Good governance in Africa
This year’s winner of the $5 million Mo Ibrahim prize for good governance in Africa is...nobody. The prize rewards a democratically elected leader in Africa found to have raised living standards, and to have voluntarily left office. No candidate met the criteria to win the prize, for the third year out of the last four.
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Childhood injuries rise
Injuries to children ages 4 and under have risen by 14 percent since 2007, with 2.5 million visits to the emergency room last year. Experts say the increase—which reverses a long decline in childhood injuries—may be caused by parents being distracted by smartphones and other devices.
The Wall Street Journal
Flying is cheaper but more crowded
In the 1970s, the average flight was about 60 percent full. Today, the average is closer to 80 percent. “That probably helps explain why the flying experience is less pleasant today than in the past,” said Mark Perry, economics professor at the University of Michigan. But flying is also far cheaper—the average 2011 airfare was 40 percent lower than the 1980 average.
WashingtonPost.com
I say “Missouree,” you say “Missouruh”
Politicians in Missouri usually alternate between pronouncing the state’s name as “Missouree” and “Missouruh.” The Missouruh pronunciation, favored in the southern part of the state and by older, conservative residents, is often used when candidates speak to rural audiences.
The New York Times
Social Security's puny increase
Social Security checks will be about 1.5 percent higher in 2013, one of the lowest cost-of-living adjustments in the program’s history. Consumer prices nudged up slightly in 2012, so the average retiree, who gets $1,237 a month, will see an increase of just about $18.
Associated Press
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Very rich and very poor in California, and morefeature California is home to 111 billionaires, yet it also suffers the highest poverty rate in the country.
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Arctic cold kills tree insects, and more
feature This winter’s arctic temperatures have had at least one beneficial impact: They’ve killed ash borers, gypsy moths, and other tree-eating insects.
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Congress's poor record, and more
feature The 113th Congress is on course to pass less legislation than any Congress in history.
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Gender differences in employment, and more
feature
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A first for West Point, and more
feature For the first time, two male graduates of West Point were married at the military academy’s chapel.
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A God given land?, and more
feature More white evangelical Protestants than U.S Jews believe that Israel was “given to the Jewish people by God.”
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Jailing the mentally ill, and more
feature American prisons have replaced state mental hospitals as a place to warehouse the mentally ill.
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Treating Internet addiction, and more
feature Treating Internet addiction; Freshman virgins at Harvard; A salary handicap for lefties; Prices for vintage automobiles soar; Gun permits for blind people